Crooks' Importance In Of Mice And Men
Crooks' importance in "Of Mice and Men" In "Of Mice and Men" Crooks is a black stable back segregated from the rest of the men on the ranch because of the fact that he is black. Crooks' name suggests that there is something physically wrong with him. His physical disability is one of the many ways that he suffers on the ranch. We see Crooks mostly in chapter four. He is not shown much in the first three paragraphs and this indicates his position in society as very low because he is not noticed, and therefore is not important. At the begin of chapter four we see Crooks in a room of his own from this we see he is separated from all the other men. His room is simple and small to suit his needs: "Crooks' bunk was a long box filled with hay" The fact that his room is so basic shows that he is lower than rest of the men on the ranch. Although that he is seen as less of a person, he looks after his room which shows he is "a proud, aloof man." Although he is separated from the other men, he still has many personal possessions. Like the other men on the ranch his possessions say a lot about him. In his room he has "rubber boots", "a big alarm clock", and "a shot gun" which shows that although he is a cripple he is very active and practical. He also has many tools; here John Steinback is trying to show that although he is black he is very skilled and capable with his hands. This
Of Mice & Men : Crooks analysis
Of Mice & Men: Crooks Crooks is introduced to us in a very unique way. Steinbeck describes all his belongings, creating a strong vivid picture in the readers head. Crooks the 'negro stable buck' lives alone in a small cramped room. He is someone who is treated very unfairly and unjustly, due to just his colour. When he was young he was kicked by a horse, therefore leaving him with a body which is crooked to the left. He has many things from shoes, a clock, and a shotgun; he also has a dictionary, magazines, a few dirty books, and a pair of 'gold' spectacles. Crooks keeps his room 'swept and clearly neat'. For Crooks his room is his supply of pride. Crooks room alone tells us everything about him. It tells us how he is different from many other ranch workers. His room is flocculated with boxes with various amounts of tools from his countless amounts of previous jobs. Steinbeck tries to portray to us that Crooks has been a ranch worker for a very long time and over the time he has gathered a load of possessions. Crooks is not treated as a normal human being, he is seen as almost an animal, and therefore he always tries to takes pride in himself. The 'fairly neat' room shows this. Crooks is told that he is not allowed in the bunk house, due to him being black and as any human being would do, he takes offence, as Crooks is not allowed in the bunk house, he tries to maintain
Of Mice and Men essay on Crooks character.
Grace French. 10N Of Mice and Men essay I am doing my essay on Crooks the 'Stable buck' who is black, 'the nigger'. I have chosen to do Crooks as I feel he is a defined character, different to the rest so I thought it would be interesting to go into him with more detail. He has a crooked back, hence the name Crooks, he has a crooked back as a horse kicked him when he was younger. 'Stable buck' means he tends the horses on the ranch, and this is where he sleeps. He is not allowed to sleep in the bunkhouse with the rest of the ranch workers, as they are afraid that they might catch a disease off him, so instead he has to sleep in the barn with the animals. He lives a life of solitude, being alone in the barn with no-one coming in to talk to him, 'You got no right to come in my room', 'I aint wanted in the bunkhouse and you aint wanted in here'. Among his possessions, in his room he has some books, including "a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905" This tells him his rights as a black man, so he obviously does not want to get on the wrong side of the law, so he keeps to his limits. Him having books suggests to us that he may have been well educated as a child. When he was young boy he lived on a smallholding with his father, so he was probably treated with a bit of respect, however, now he is just a black man working on a ranch
Comparing Crooks and Candy in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'
Comparing Crooks and Candy in the novel 'Of Mice and Men' John Steinbeck, in the novel 'Of mice and men', creates the two characters Crooks and Candy, who on the surface appear overtly different. However, Steinbeck establishes throughout the novel that underneath the surface the two characters are very similar. Due to the colour of Crook's skin , and the old age of Candy, both the characters fall prey to discrimination that leads to isolation. As Crooks is a victim to the racism evoked upon him, he is forced to live alone. This is because of the unjust prejudice of that period in time. Steinbeck cleverly conveys Crooks feelings towards his discrimination, by the statement 'glittering with intensity' when describing his eyes. This clearly conveys to the reader the anger he feels due the unjust prejudice he is a victim of. Whereas, Although Candy lives with the other workers he is still subtly discriminated against. This becomes apparent when the workers shoot Candy's dog because it is no longer useful. Steinbeck uses this to as a metaphor, and to also echo the fact that soon Candy will be no longer useful, due to his age and will not be wanted by the ranch. Moreover, since Steinbeck does not refer to both characters by name he indicates as to how they may be portrayed. As Crooks is firstly described by the racist term 'nigger', and Candy as 'The old swamper',
Of Mice and Men - Crooks Monologue
Of Mice and Men Character: Crooks Loneliness is a disease. It eats away at people slowly, gradually tearing them limb from limb. It is a virus that send some people insane, some turn senile, I am lonely no friends, no one to talk to either. Crazy old world these days isn't it when even a black Negro cannot have his own privacy in his own room well that's what I like to call it my room. Maybe it happened to be a good thing that day the fact my privacy was over ruled by a white, strong, tall disheartened lost and confused male or maybe it was just pure ignorance. Either way I got to talk to someone well when I say talk to I may as well have been talking to myself but nevermind he was human!!. His name was Lennie he was a crazy bastard always talking about George this great magnificent person who Lennie thought was God was going to let him tend the rabbits on the land they planned to buy when I say planned I mean dreamed. Everyone had this dream work a month or to get the money and buy land but that's all it was a dream. George had got this idea into Lennies head and that's all he would talk about until you started to talk about George. This is when I realised that George was really special to Lennie even more special than them damn rabbits. I sat there trying to torment this vulnerable fellow just for my self enjoyment really and I hit a nerve
Crooks' isolation in "Of Mice and Men".
Journal Writing Assignment . The person who influenced Crooks to be isolated is his dad. When Crooks was a kid, he did play with some white kids. However, although those white kids were pretty nice, Crooks' dad didn't allow him to do, as Crooks said, "My ol' man didn't like that". Thus, when Crooks was growing up, he was increasingly aware of that there exist a boundary between black people and white people that is hard to go across. As he found that "there wasn't another colored family for miles around and now there ain't a colored man on this ranch", Crooks felt himself isolated because there were no black people whom he could communicate with, as he stated in the story, "If I say something, why it's just a nigger sayin' it." Furthermore, the white workers on the ranch also played a major role of influencing Crooks to be isolated. They discriminated him, thought Crooks " stink" and didn't allow Crooks to play cards together with them. This would enhance Crooks' feeling of isolation. Therefore, both of Crooks' dad and the white people on the ranch influenced Crooks to feel isolated and lived alone in a shed. 2. If I were Crooks, I would feel the same way as Crooks did: lonely, frustrated and helpless, just like a single man walking on the boundless desert. Whenever I am unhappy or sad, nobody talks to me and give me comforts. Crooks said, " A guy needs somebody-to
How does Steinbeck present the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'?
How does Steinbeck present the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'? Within the time period of the 1930's, many non-white people kept themselves isolated from others and stayed out of trouble, to avoid the risk of being lynched. Segregation, isolation and racism was a normal lifestyle led by those who were black; one of the characters that embodies this theme in the novel is the character of Crooks. Other themes of the novel are the American Dream; which is never achieved by any of the characters, this suggests that Steinbeck believed that the dream was unbelievable. This is the same belief which Crooks has. Friendship is another important theme, as the reader sees the desperation Crooks has for friendship and the affect of loneliness has had on him. Steinbeck set the novel in Soledad, California, 1930's during the Great Depression. This is an ironic setting because the term 'Soledad' means isolation and loneliness in Spanish, reflecting the life led by Crooks. Also the reader follows the protagonists Lennie and George as they struggle financially. In addition unemployment rates were high and pension rates decreased; making life hard especially for the middle class. Many men left their families and travelled across the country to find work and support their families. But life was harder for black men as they were seen as savage animals and were not wanted;
How does Steinbeck present Crooks in the extract? What is the importance of crooks in the novel as a whole? Of Mice and Men is a powerful and moving portrayal of two men striving
Assignment Title: How does Steinbeck present Crooks in the extract? What is the importance of crooks in the novel as a whole? Of Mice and Men is a powerful and moving portrayal of two men striving to understand their own unique place in the world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other - and a dream. A dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch, but their hopes are doomed, as Lennie - struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy - becomes a victim of his own strength. Of Mice and Men does many things which include: tackling universal themes, friendship and a shared vision, and giving a voice to America's lonely and dispossessed; and in this essay about this poignant novel I will explain how 'Crooks' a key character in this book is presented, and also show his importance to the novel as a whole. In 'Of Mice and Men' Crooks is a black man and is disfigured because of his crooked back. Because of these two things, he is treated as a second-class citizen. We can see that he is treated this way by looking at this extract: "Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness-room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn. On one side of the little room there was a square four paned window, and on the
Of Mice And Men
Many of the characters in 'Of Mice and Men' have dreams. What are their dreams and how near are any of them to achieving what they want? Many characters have dreams and aspirations in the story "Of Mice and Men" and try to achieve them in different ways. Many characters have dreams and I will be discussing the dreams of: Candy, Crooks, Curley and his wife. Candy, Crooks and Curley wife all have similar dreams, which is to have freedom and equality. All three characters are treated with very little respect and are seen as lower class due to race, gender, age or disability. Dreams are very important to the characters as they help them to escape from reality even if only for a short while. Their dreams are also significant as they are hope that things will get better and are vital to keep spirits high. However, many people's dreams were affected by the economic downfall that America experienced. The story is set in the 1930's, which was when America experienced the Wall Street crash. This was when the stock market collapsed and many Americans lost thousands of dollars they had invested. This caused mass homelessness and led to the great depression. During this era there was lots of prejudice and discrimination against black people, women, the elderly and the disabled. This affected them the worst as any time when life was getting tough they were hit much worse and were the
How is the theme of racism and loneliness shown through the character of Crooks in OF MICE AND MEN?
How is the theme of racism and loneliness shown through the character of Crooks in OF MICE AND MEN? The book 'Of Mice and Men' is based in the 1930's at this time racism was abolished but still carried on, the Great Depression was at its worst so people became lonely because they had to go and work of ranches. The Great the Depression is when the biggest banks of the USA became bankrupted, so all the people who invested in the banks lost all their money. This made some people depressed and did not think they could not cope. But in most cases they carried on with their treacherous lives. This is symbolised by Crooks in the story. He is a 'lonely' and desperate for communication for others because of his colour. John Steinbeck realised this racism at this time and separates Crooks from the rest of the ranch workers. The ranch is a microcosm to the hole of America. The first time we hear about Crooks is through Candy's speech. We are immediately shown that Crooks is not respected by Candy or the other ranch workers by announcing he is a 'nigger'. Also he is used for a brutal entertainment. At the last Christmas the white ranch workers were drinking and having an exquisite time and decided to pick on the helpless, alienated and crippled 'nigger', so they thought. This all shows that black people was still treated in an appalling manner and the other white ranch worker still
